MAN IN MIDDLE WAS IN MIDDLE OF EVERY OTHER TEAM’S OFFENSE

The mystery surrounding the death of Junior Seau, the man, may never be solved. The mystery that was Junior Seau, the football player, wasn’t solved, either. Junior couldn’t be figured out on the field. His game was an athletic whodunit without a clear denouement.

This is a day to celebrate Junior as a player. Because there was no one else like him. He played with great passion, with explosion, twisting the orthodox into a knot. He played as if in the dark. He could not be followed.

Most every great player, no matter the position, is different. They set themselves apart. No one ever did linebacker like Junior.

There were times Seau was a lone wolf, overreacting or overthinking and putting himself out of position. But he had to drive offensive coordinators nuts.

Rick “Goose” Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News is the most knowledgeable football writer in America and knows more about talent than most NFL general managers. I’ve been told the Cowboys annually put his top 100 collegians on their war room wall. I respect his opinion as much as anyone’s.

“A terrific, terrific freelance linebacker,” Gosselin said of Seau through an email. “He was Bobby Bell a couple of decades later. He probably was the most dynamic player of his era, but I’d still have (Dick) Butkus ahead of him as the most dynamic in history. You feared Junior’s plays but you feared Butkus’ hits. But you can count the defenders ahead of him on one hand.”

Freelance. That was Junior. Great players make great plays. Seau was a great player who made great plays.

He was a load, a nightmare for opposing coaches, who had to look at film and think they were trying to block a ghost. So I went to Chargers head coach and offensive play-caller Norv Turner, who as coordinator in Dallas and head coach with Washington and Oakland, had to prepare for Seau many times. Turner also was with Miami when Junior left the Chargers and went to the Dolphins in 2003.

“The No. 1 thing about Junior was that he was such an explosive player he’d defeat one-on-one blocks and he was a great tackler,” Norv says. “Most people felt he had a green light. Some keys you normally get with players you didn’t with him.

“More than anything, he made it hard to run the ball. He made it hard to get things blocked and teams would eventually abandon the run for the pass. He always was going to the ball. Some guys like to freelance, but they couldn’t do what Junior did; they couldn’t be Junior. He had the ability to close distance so fast.”

Coaches love practice. Not all players do. Seau practiced liked he played — all out.

“The great thing about Junior is that he never even took a down off in practice,” Norv says. “When he came to Miami it was a very veteran defense with a lot of successful players, and he became an instant leader and pacesetter for the group. When I got here (in 2001, as offensive coordinator) we had just gotten LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) and we were excited about the offense. But once we got to minicamp, we found this was a defensive team. And it was Junior. He made practices exciting.”